“May they rot in hell,” was my gut response on reading of the cruel, cold-blooded abuse and murders meted out by Emma Tustin and Savannah Brockhill. Not a very ‘Christian’ response on my behalf, but an honest one. Both were a personification of the wicked stepmothers in fairy tales, but there was no happy ending for Star Hobson and Arthur Labinjo-Hughes.

Social services are, understandably, coming in for a lot of criticism, having had multiple opportunities to act on both counts. But it’s not entirely fair to point the finger of blame at them. They have been under enormous pressure, in a role that is thankless even at the best of times, and which intensified during lockdown.

Children’s needs side-lined

Society as a whole is to blame for the de-prioritising of children on so many counts, as their needs have been side-lined while adults get caught up on the latest ideology.

Arthur Labinjo-Hughes was effectively sacrificed on the altar of Covid-lockdown dogma. His desperately concerned uncle reported his worries about the child’s safety to the police, only to be told that if he tried to visit him again, he would be arrested for breaking lockdown laws.

Society as a whole is to blame for the de-prioritising of children on so many counts, as their needs have been side-lined while adults get caught up on the latest ideology.

Little Star seems to have suffered her fate as social services believed that extended family were making up the claims of abuse because of their disapproval of the same-sex relationship of her mother and partner. Whether this was due to fear of potential accusations of ‘homophobia’, or genuinely believing that a prejudice would lead to multiple members of the family making the same allegations, it is clear that the claims were not looked into properly because Star’s mother and her partner were in a lesbian relationship.

It’s not the only time that either prejudice, or fears of looking prejudiced, have led to failures in child protection. In towns and cities such as Bradford, Newcastle and Telford, for years, mostly Pakistani Muslim men were able to get away with grooming and abusing young vulnerable white girls, because of the authorities’ fear of racism and Islamophobia accusations.

The Church, unfortunately, is as guilty of these failures as any of the above organisations. How many times were children simply not believed because the abusers were seen as good, upstanding Christians, people to be trusted? Or leaders didn’t want the reputation of the Church, or Christianity, to be damaged. Sadly, the cover-ups have led to much worse reputational damage, and have put many people off Christianity altogether, particularly in places such as Ireland.

Evil flourishes while deception abounds

One of the huge challenges in safeguarding is deception. Star’s mother (who seems to be as much a vulnerable victim here as she is responsible for her daughter’s death) and her partner appear to have done as much as they could to deceive social services. This included weaponising their lesbian relationship to make themselves appear as victims¹.

Deception is a factor in many of the missed cases. And prioritising one idea to the detriment of another important issue is a recipe for blindness, which allows us to be deceived. Jesus told his disciples that we are to be as shrewd as serpents, but as innocent as doves (Matt 10:16). Many Christians are fairly good at living ‘innocent’ lives, but forget that we need to be shrewd too. We need to watch that we keep our eyes open in so many ways, and not get so caught up in one idea that we can’t see what else is going on.

Jesus told his disciples that we are to be as shrewd as serpents, but as innocent as doves. Many Christians are fairly good at living ‘innocent’ lives, but forget that we need to be shrewd too.

Jesus warned us of “wolves in sheep’s clothing” (Matt 7:15), and though he was speaking of false prophets, it is a good description of many abusers – whether parents, teachers, or church leaders. People who make themselves look good, all the while destroying those under their care. And where do these “wolves” and this deception come from? Satan is described as the “father of lies” (John 8:44). He is out to deceive. Satan and his minions will even be influencing some of these abusers directly.

Social services do not get everything right. Occasionally, they can be truly negligent. But they are up against the work of the adversary, on the frontline of battle, facing evil itself at times. They make mistakes, and, especially under huge pressure, will inadvertently make the wrong decisions. Let us pray for social services – and also for ourselves and for society generally – for wisdom and clear-sightedness, and an ability to see beyond dogma and deception, in whatever form it takes.

Notes
1. Feminist (and lesbian) Julie Bindel also writes on this in the Daily Mail.